Usertick
Start free
Author follow survey template

Learn why readers follow your writers, and how to tell them about new work

Three questions right after a reader follows a writer: why they follow, how they want to hear about new pieces and which writer they want more from. Use it as it is or change any question, and Usertick reads every written answer for you.

Get started freeAll templates

What this author follow survey tells you

An author follow survey asks readers about the writers they choose to follow, at the moment they press Follow. This template takes under a minute: why they follow writers, how they want to hear about new pieces, and which writer they would like to read more from.

It is written for a popup on the article or writer page that opens when a reader presses the Follow button. From Starter, or on 1 survey on Free, an element click trigger on that button opens it, or your page fires a custom event when the follow goes through. Without these triggers, open it after a short delay on writer pages.

Every written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category from your list, such as content quality or newsletters and alerts, with a type and a sentiment. Results shows bars for each reason with the typed Other answers, the share for each way to hear about new pieces, and every answer to the open question with its theme.

On your websiteAs a linkIn an emailAs a conversation
Questions
3
Time to answer
About a minute
Written for
A popup on the article page, right after a reader follows a writer
Plans
Every plan, the free plan included

See it on every channel

The same template on your website, behind a link, in an email and as a conversation.

On your website

Show it as a popup, a side button or inside the page, and choose the pages and the moment it opens: on page load, after a delay, on scroll or as someone is about to leave, on every plan. Event and behavior triggers work on 1 survey on Free and on every survey from Starter.

The 3 questions, one by one

What each question asks, why it is there, what it shows you and what to change.

Question 1 of 3 · Multiple choice · Optional

Why do you follow writers here?

Why ask it
Readers follow writers for different reasons: a voice they like, a beat they care about, the news they break or a personal connection. The reason tells you what to put forward on a writer's page.
What you learn
Bars with the share and count of each reason, since readers can pick several, with every typed Other answer listed beside the chart.
Make it yours
Add the reasons that fit your publication, such as a writer's own newsletter or podcast, and keep Other for the rest.
Question 2 of 3 · Multiple choice

How should we tell you about new pieces?

Why ask it
A follow is only worth something if the reader hears about the next piece. Asking for the channel right away lets you deliver the follow the way the reader wants it.
What you learn
A donut with the share and count for each channel and for Please don't, compared with the period before, so you see where your readers expect to hear about new work.
Make it yours
Match the options to the channels you can send today, and treat Please don't as a reader who wants the follow as a bookmark.
Question 3 of 3 · Text · Optional

Which writer would you like to read more from?

Why ask it
A reader who just followed one writer may have another in mind. The open question names the writers whose work readers want more of.
What you learn
Usertick reads each answer as it arrives, gives it a category, a theme and a sentiment, and lists every answer in Results, filterable by theme.
Make it yours
Share the names with your editors each month, and use them when you plan columns or newsletters.

What the answers show

Results turns each question into numbers you can follow week by week.

Why do you follow writers here?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

How should we tell you about new pieces?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

Every written answer, read for you

Each answer arrives with its category, theme, type and urgency, so the urgent ones reach your team first.

Use this template in four steps

From the template to the first answers.

  1. 1

    Open the template

    Sign up free and pick Following writers in the template gallery. It opens in a matching style, ready to change.

  2. 2

    Make the questions yours

    Reword any question, change the options, and add logic or more questions.

  3. 3

    Choose where it runs

    Show it on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.

  4. 4

    Publish and read the answers

    Answers arrive in Results and the inbox as people send them, each written one read and filed by Usertick.

Tips for this survey

Small choices that keep people answering and the answers useful.

  1. 01

    Open it on the Follow click

    From Starter, or on 1 survey on Free, set an element click trigger on the Follow button's selector, so the survey opens at the moment a reader follows.

  2. 02

    Ask each reader once

    Keep the default show frequency, until answered, so a reader who follows several writers stops seeing the survey after one answer.

  3. 03

    Identify signed-in readers

    Pass each reader's ID with Usertick.identify, so the inbox shows who answered and a workflow can act on the channel they chose.

  4. 04

    Act on the channel choice

    On every plan, a webhook sends each answer to your own system, so a reader who picks email gets new pieces by email from then on.

Churn surveysReader surveysWebsite surveysOpinion and reporting questions

More retention templates and questions

Templates like this one, and single questions from the library to add to it.

Templates

Browse all templates
RetentionNewsletter feedbackLearn what subscribers read, how often they want to hear from you and what would make them unsubscribe. Link it from the footer of your newsletter.
RetentionPush alertsFind out how many alerts readers want, on which topics and when to stay quiet. Show it in the app to users with alerts turned on.
RetentionExit intentAsk visitors why they're leaving, and find what stops them from signing up or buying. Show it on exit intent, on your key pages only and to first-time visitors.
RetentionWeekly customer pulseA light weekly check on how customers feel about your product and how confident they are using it. Show it in the app once a week to active users.

Questions from the library

Browse the question library
  1. Can you tell our opinion pieces from our news reporting?Yes / No · Opinion and reporting
  2. How much opinion do we publish?Multiple choice · Opinion and reporting
  3. Which opinion formats do you read?Multiple choice · Opinion and reporting
  4. Which sports do you follow with us?Multiple choice · Sports desk
  5. What do you read after a game?Multiple choice · Sports desk
  6. How would you rate our live match coverage?Stars · Sports desk

Frequently asked questions

Right after they follow, while the reason is clear in their mind. From Starter, or on 1 survey on Free, an element click trigger on the Follow button opens the survey at that moment.

Yes, through your own system. On every plan, a webhook sends each answer, with the reader's ID when they are identified, so your system can switch on the channel they chose.

Two or three. This template asks three, and only the channel question is required, so it takes under a minute.

Yes, when the survey opens on writer pages: the Pages card in the Audience tab shows where answers came from, and selecting a page filters Results to it.

Yes. The survey runs for every visitor, signed in or not. Without Usertick.identify the answers are still collected, but a workflow can't tie them to a reader's account.

Yes. Every template comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.

Yes. The template becomes your own survey, so reword any question, add or remove questions, and change the options and the logic. The gallery stays as it is.

Yes, from Starter. The template is written in US English. Add languages by hand or with AI translation, and each person sees the survey in their browser's language.

Listen better, act faster, and build what truly matters.

Start free, see what your customers mean, and get each answer to the person who can act on it.

Get started freeTalk to sales
  • 150 responses a month on Free
  • Every channel and AI analysis
  • No card needed